Danger-signal for automobiles



J. SCHACHT.

DANGER SIGNA-L FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLECATQUN FILED JAN. 14, 1919.

PfLtGIHJGd Apr. 6, 1920.

INVENTOR 7 Julius Schacht ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT onricn.

JULIUS SCHAClf-IT, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DANGER-SIGNAL FOR, AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed January 14%, 1919.

To all whom it may concern.

Be 1t known that I, JULIUS Sormorrr, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident driver or other persons the fact that a stop,

turn, or the like, is about to'be made.

Another object of theinvention is to provide a signal that may be readily seen by persons either in front of or behind thevehicle carrying the signal,'and which may be projected either by hand or foot means, and which furthermore may be locked in projected position so as to relieve the operator of the vehicle from constant manual control, leaving his hands free'for the control of the steering or driving mechanism of the machine, but means obviously will be provided for the release of the holding means so that the signal will return automatically to normal secluded position.

Vith the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a prac tical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters'designate the same parts in the several views and in which Figure 1 is an elevation showing my improvement in operation.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail view in elevation indi cating the catch means to hold the device in projected position.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. l.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

Serial No. 271,132.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the device housed in its casing; and

Fig. 6 isa diagram indicating the pedal connections with the two signal devices on opposite sides of the machine.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings I show my invention as comprising a casing or housing 10 fixed in any suitable stationary support, as for example, on the dashboard or the wind shield frame of an automobile, such support being represented at 11. The casing may be supported either at the right or left side of the vehicle according to the side on which the driver is seated, or if desired the device may be duplicated and have connections between the devices on oppositesides of the vehicle so that the signal may be displayed simultaneously at both sides of the vehicle, especially in connecti0n with the foot operated means for controlling it. This is a matter of considerable importance in view of the desirability for the driver seated for example on the left side of the vehicle to project his hand or other signaling means to the right of the vehicle to indicate a proposed right turn. It is well understood that the expedient of projecting ones hand from the side of the vehicle opposite from where he is sitting is an awkward one, and sometimes practically impossible.

In the conception and design of this device I have had in mind the expedient of displaying a signal element as large and as conspicuous as the conditions will warrant and yet which will occupy a minimum amount of space when idle, and whereby consequently the device in its idle position is inconspicuous and practically unnoticeable. In carrying out my invention, therefore, in a practical embodiment I anchor within the casing 10 a series of lazy tong devices, the first bar 12 of which is fixed adjacent to the inner edge portion 10 of the casing in vertical position. Another bar 13 pivoted at its center at 14 to the first bar 12 constitutes the actuating lever and is projectable through a slot 15 formed in the wall 10 of the casing. In its normal position the lever 14 lies practically'parallel to the bar 12, but when operated the upper end of the lever 14 which carries a finger piece 16. or its equivalent, is movable inward and downward through an arc of about 90 bringing the bar 1 1 to horizontal position. All of the remaining bars 17 of the lazytongs are pivoted to one another in the usual manner of lazy tongs,

and hence when the lever 1d is swung inward and downward as described to horizontal position the remote end of the system of levers is swung outward and upward through a curved arc and to a distance well beyond the outer open side of the casing.

The upper and lower ends of the outer most pair of links or bars 17 carry a rigid link-like member. comprising parallel bars .18 and 19, the former of which is fixed at; its lower end to a foot piece 20 fixed rigidly to the lower end'of the one bar 17 and having a slida-ble connection through aneye 21 with the other bar 17. The bar 19 of the link is thus held spaced rearward from the plane of the lazy tong bars and has fixed permanently to it the outer end of a flexible strip of signal material such as a red banner, or its equivalent 22. The signal member is rolled at its other end upon a spring operated roller 23 journaled in a bracket 24- having a relation to airuppcr andv lower pair of toggle joints intermediate the ends of the system of toggle bars similar to the relation of the bars 18 and 19 tothe outermost ends of the lazy tongs. More definitely the bracket 24: includes a bar 24 'having-its lower endfixed ina' foot piece 25 while the upper portion of the bar 2 3 has slidable connection in guide 26 fixed to the joint directly above the foot piece 25. The roller 23'is journa-led in the rearward extensions of the bar and footypiece and is spring operated whereby-1 the signal member will automatically roll thereon when the lazy tongs are collapsed.

VVhen'the lever 14 is swung inward and downward at its lower end as described the signal member is projected quickly and rc-' liably outward and upward from the open.

. sided casing and because the first bar of the follows, therefore; that there is no tendency lazy tongs is anchored in a vertical position and the lower end of the actuating lever 14 is thereby swung outward and upward through about 90 it follows that the outer end of the lazy tongs, carrying the signal membeijis moved upward as well as outward so that it has a tendency to return by gravity automatically to its normal secluded position when the lever 14 is released. It

for the signal member toswing or otherwise move inadvertentlyfrom its hidden position. i

For most purposes the lever 14 may be actuated entirely by hand either for the projection of thesignal member or for hold lng it in dlsplay pos tion. If. however-{it is desirable to relieve the operate from using his hand after projecting the signal member] an automatic spring catch of any suitable nature 1nd 1ca ted at V over the upper edge of the lev r '14 "for 97 may be employed to snap holding it down. This spring is indicatedas anchored at its lower end and having a unger piece or loop 28 at its upper end which may be engaged over a pin or stud 29, it de sired, to uphold it inidle position so t at if the catchis not desired by any particular individual it willv not operate to engage and hold the lever. Usually, however, the driver has need for both of his hands especially at] the time when a turn is being made so it is usually desirable to'employ the catch to engage and hold the lever automatically. To release the lever the operator has but to draw rearward; upon the loop 28 to set free the lever 1i when the signal member will .gravi tate promptly to its nestedp'osition;

ranged that by moving the pedal to the left for example the leftsignal connection will beslackened so that the actuationof the pedal will project only the signal device at the remote side of the vehicle. Consequently the driver may depend upon the foot actuation only for the remote signal while hemay control the closer'and more convenient signal b'y'his hand.

Iclaim:- 1. In. a SlgllfllClGVlCG for automobiles; the

combination of a relatively fixed casing a flexible display member carriedfnormally in. rolled "form within the. casing and means 'to project-the display membentrom the casing; said projecting means comprising a'pluralit of lazy tongs, andconnections between theopposite ends of the display member and the lazy tongs whereby when'the lazy tongs are projected the display member will be extended; said display member being carried entirely by the; lazy tongs. i I

25111 a signal deviceto'riautomobiles.the combination of a relatively fixed casin lazy tongs devices anchored in the casing and carried' normally infolded position therein; a

link membercarried bythe outermost ends of the lazy tongs and comprising two par-' allel bars, another bar member carried bychc parallel'to the'linlemember. a spring operated roller 101111194186 in the latter mentioned bar member. and. a fiGXlble display member secured at one end to the roller and" secured at its otherend to the linli member whereby when the lazy tongs are projected the display member willf'be automatically unrolled from the roller and projected upward into display position.

but the connections maybe so are intermediate joints of. the lazy: tongs and;

3. In a safety signal, the combination of a rigid support, a series of lever members pivoted to one another, the first lever constituting the actuator and pivoted on a fixed pivot to said support intermediate the ends of the lever, a flexible signal member carried normally in rolled form adjacent to the support, and means carried by the lever members serving to cause the signal member to be unrolled into flat display position 10 and at the same time to be swung outward and upward by the actuation of the actuating lever providing thereby for the automatic return by gravity of the signal member when the actuator is released.

JULIUS SGHACHT. 

